The state of Spanish /s/ variation in Concepcion, Chile: Linguistic and social trends

The current study examines /s/ variation in the southern-central city of Concepcion, Chile and its relation to a variety of linguistic and social factors. A proportional-odds mixed effects model, with the random factor of "speaker", was used to treat the categorically coded data on a continuum of acoustical variation ([s] > [h] > empty set). The results presented show that contrary to the previous assertions, heavy sibilant reduction, especially elision, in Concepcion, Chile is the rule, rather than the exception, to the extent that it is no longer a marker of certain social demographics as has been reported previously. Furthermore, based on the trends reported, it is likely that this has been the case for several decades. Finally, the overall observed trends are indicative that the rates of /s/ elision will continue to increase across social demographics and different phonetic and phonological contexts in Concepcion, Chile.